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EDITORIAL PAGE THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN Published Every Afternoon Except Bunder By THE GEORGIAN COMPANY At 20 East Alabama St., Atlanta, Ge. Entered bi second-class matter at postoffice at Atlanta, under aet es Mannh 1, M1». Subscription Price—Delivered by carrier, 10 cents a week. By mail, IE 00 a year. Payable in advance. George W. Perkins and the Roosevelt Progressive Party M M •» | He Has Set an Example That Other Prosperous Men Might Fol low. The Country Needs Able Men to Take an Interest In Politics and Government. The Republican party spent 190.000 on ita Chicago convention. The Progressive party, managed by Perkins, spent 617,000 for exactly the same kind of a convention—and came back from Chicago 64,000 to the good. Think about that! While Roosevelt was speaking to 30,000 men and women in Bos ton, some one in the crowd yelled, "Tell ua about Perkins!’* Roosevelt replied, "I’m glad you asked that question," and them answered ft. He said that Perkins, although a rich man, had joined the Pro pressive party and interested himself fn politics BECAUSE HE HAS CHILDREN AND FELT THAT IT WAS HIS DUTY TO DO WHAT HE COULD TO MAKE CONDITIONS BETTER IN THE COUNTRY IN WHICH THE CHH.DREN WOULD LIVE AFTER THEIR FATHER’S DEPARTURE Mr. Roosevelt also said that Mr. Perkins had made al] the money he wanted, and now wanted to do something really useful and worth while for the country at large. This country is glad to see men of ability come nut in the open, work politically in the open, use their influence and intelligence in the open—instead of working in the old-fashioned ‘‘rich man’s way" behind dosed doors, using cash to buy those in office, or pro mote legislation. This country needs men of ABHJTY in public affairs. Gov ernment means something more than getting offices and dividing them up, something more than collecting taxes and spending them extravagantly. Tins country needs all of the ability of its ablest men. It should have such men as J. J. Hill working for the nation, instead of working, however usefully, as railroad builders for themselves. The big rewards In this world attract the big and the able men. And the small rewards, outside of periods of great national excitement, attract the small and the feeble men. Our government has been offering small rewards to its em ployees, while industry, railroad building, great corporations and organizations of all kinds, have been offering great rewards. Therefore, men of unusual power and ability have been drafted into the industrial field and away from the field of politics and of government. It is a good sign when a man like Perkins, as able as any of the big organizers and managers, decides that it is more worth while to share in government, than to make additional money Agassiz, the great scientist, preached a whole sermon when he said, "I am too busy to make money.’* It would be an excellent thing for America if more of the ablest men should tire of the money making game, as Perkins seems to have tired of it, and should find themselves ‘‘too busy to con tinue money making, too much interested in public and important affairs to continue working for private profit. The articles In the Hearst Magazine show ns our collection of senators and other public officials acting as toadies, servants and handy men for the big geniuses of the industrial world. It is humiliating to see the representatives of the people and of the government accepting the pay of industrial organizers and act ing as the lackeys of those organizers. The country needs the work of such men as E. H. Harriman, powerful and strong enough to build thousands upon thousands of mlloa of railroad in a life that ended too soon. The country needs the imagination and power of such a man as .1, Pierpont Morgan, wasting his energies now in the accumulation of money that does hhn no good, and spending the money in the accumulation of col lections that will do him no good—although they may be useful to the country in future A man like Morgan, if he wore interested in lhe United States, tnyrtead of being interested in .1 )’ Morgan and Company, would give this country the canals, roads and other facilities that it needs, and very soon give it the beginning of government ownership that it needs. The country has been served too long and too often by men went into politics and got places in government BECAUSE THEY WERE FIT FOR NOTHING ELSE IN PARTICULAR, or because of a hysterical half baked ambition that led them nowhere. One first-class BIG man of the type that this countrv produces fn Its industries and its railroad building would keep half a dozen legislatures honest One such man as George Perkins, giving to the business of the people the energy and capacity that he has given to private busi ness undertakings, would be a good, new thing in polities, and a useful man in government. And the people are bound, until they have proof to the contrary, to assume that Perkins is sincere in his advocacy of the new party—which has antagonized and is de nounced by most of the men rich and influential as Perkins is. A proof of the value of Perkins in a political organization was given at the Roosevelt convention in Chicago. Mr. Perkins directs the financial and practical management of the Roosevelt party—LUCKILY FOR THE PARTY. The Roosevelt convention hired the hall occupied previously by the Republican convention It had lhe same bands; it printed the same finely engraved tickets. And the Roosevelt convention cost all together in Chicago $17,000, whereas the regular Republican convention, managed by the old-fashioned grafting politicians, COST MORF TH \\ NINETY THOUSAND DOLLARS. ‘ In other words, under old-fashioned political management, a liepublican convention cost about seventy-five thousand dollars or 500 per cent, more than exactly lhe same kind of a convention managed by a man used to business undertakings. It would be interesting to know who got the $75,000 difference in the cost of the Republican convention. The fact may also be mentioned that the Roosevelt convention not only cost onl\ $17,000 as compared with ninety-odd thousand for lhe Republican convention, but the Roosevelt convention sold tickets of admission, took in .<19,000 in cash from the public which was really interested in the birth of the new Progressive partv And When Hie convention was over, the Progressive party, finan cially managed by I erkius. had two thousand in eash more than it Continued in Last Column The Atlanta Georgian MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 1912. [ THE ARTILLERY OF THE SKY If Can Shoot Ten Milu, But It Cannot Destroy a City By GARRETT P. SERVTSB. IT was a tacky photographer whe caught with his camera tha pto ture which we see hare of a great storm of thunder and lightning ra<- Ins over the city of Paris on tha night of July *7 last. This picture shows graphically, and by an ac tual example, wtmt I tried ta tell la words la Tki Georgian a tew months ago—eta. that a great city to far mom secure agatna* the deerti uutHe effects of lightning than is the open country. The view was taken from the heights of Montmartre, looking tn a southerly direction over Paris. Away off near the horizon U the lofty dome of the Pantheon; to the left of the center appears the huge bulk of the Grand Opera House. Look at the three riotous strokes, descending simultaneously upon the city. The central one seems to etrike close to the ancient cathedra! of Notre Dame. This, remember, was the work of an instant. Dur ing the continuance of the storm, hundreds of bolts may have been shot from the sky upon Parts, but no damage was done, although the power of any one of them concen trated might have sufficed to de molish a. building. It 1s even possible that a greater number of lightning strokes be tween the earth and the clouds oc cur when a storm Is passing over a large city than when it has only the unobstructed country beneath it. A city Is bristling with points— church spires, towers, tall chimneys, etc.-—and there Is nothing which "draws’' lightning like a pointed ob ject. especially if it is composed of metal. A storm may exhaust all its ammunition But in this very circumstance re sides the security of the city. It is so filled with metallic objects, all of them offering ready paths for light ning, that the latter Is weakened by dissipation. A great bolt is Instan taneously divided Into a vast num ber of branches, and the force is lost. The inhabitants of the city who keep away from parks and open places are almost as secure against lightning as they would be if they were shut up Inside a huge box composed of an Iron grating. But In the country It Is different, and the need of properly adjusted lightning rods Is greater there. Greatly Dreaded. Lightning Is greatly dreaded In France, and no wonder, since sta tistics show that 10,000 people were killed by lightning tn that country during the nineteenth century. Nearly all of these perished through neglect of the most ordinary pre cautions. They may be said to have Invited death by placing them selves In the way of its darts. A remarkable example occurred early this summer, when a light ning bolt instantly killed one of the greatest noblemen of France, the Your Best Manners and Impulses By ELLA WHEELER WILCOX Copyright 1912, by American-Journal-Examiner. IF you are going away with your friends or your family for a vacation take your very best manners, your very kindest and sweetest Impulses with you. There 1s no benefit In a change of scene or respite from labor if 111 temper, nervousness, irritability and fault-finding rule the mental domain. All benefit which comes to us must come from WITHIN The woman who stays at home in a happy, cheerful state of mind, de lighted with small pleasures and bent on making everybody about her better for her companionship, will gain more benefit from her vacation than one who goes tour ing in motor cars, sailing in yachts or sojourning in great hotels, all the time complaining of her sur roundings and her associates and finding fault with people and things. A man may far better refuse to go away on a journey than to go and cast a pall of gloom over his companions by Indulging his most unatniable and disagreeable habits. A change of scene and thought is to be recommended to every human being who can possibly arrange such an event. Take Two Vacations. Not once, but twice each year, should every busy worker In the physical or mental domain of labor get away into new surroundings and among new people or alone with Nature The vehicle which rolls contin ually over one track wears ruts. So one kind of thought wears ruts tn the mind, and the mind wears ruts in the face, and premature old age comes. Women in lonely country places, who have few diversion-, and who go to sleep with the chickens, and who breathe fresh country air. and i.it wholesome food, age sooner than tin city woman of fashion, tiecause thev have r ■ sari*' l ' al " ■ A Storm Raging Over Paris, Marquis of Montebello. In defiance of many warnings he ventured out in a fierce thunder storm, passing on foot through open fields and a woodland. His body was found, half stripped of its clothing, near some trees. He carried an um brella. with a steel point, which may have divirted the stroke from a tree to him. Only a week before this tragedy, a gendarme, in a lit tle country village near me, was killed by lightning when he went into his garden during a thunder storm. The reach of lightning is some time* appalling, it may go a mile, it may even go TEN MILES and reach Its victim. It can not be dodged even when it conies from afar, for 1t travels with almost the speed of light. Some districts arc particularly dangerous because of the existence of deposits of iron beneath the surface of the earth. The neighborhood of a body of water or a stream is always dan gerous during a thunder storm. Even subterranean water may "at tract” lightning It is rare that lightning enters a room. If it strikes a ‘house the damage Is usually confined to the exterior, the roof or the chimneys. During a violent storm the safest place is the center of a room, where there is no open communica tion, such as a fireplace, with the mental food and dwell on a monot onous level of unchanging views. Therefore, vacations and little journeys and visits and trips are to be recommended as beauty treat ments and old-age preventives as f ’f a _! Z/ ELLA WHEELER WILCOX. w ell as cures for mental and physi cal maladies. And they are helps to success in any line of endeavor, since they enlarge the vision and increase the . mind’s capacity. J But none of the benefits result from vacations If the mind is filled with discontent, ill temper and carping criticism. Should Have Stayed Home. A man was urged by his wife to take a week’s vacation with her. The man wanted to go into the country; the wife urged the sea shore. and the man yielded. He went with his wife, but every mile of the journey was devoted to gruflibling and ill humor, and every hour of the vacation was spent in regret that he had not gone else where, and when his wife fell ill he I swM he kn-» something of the kind exterior. If you are very fearful, you may insulate yourself by sit ting in a chair with its legs rest ing in glass tumblers, or, as some do, by lying upon a feather bed. Naturally you would not choose an iron bed. Some Warnings. But these are extreme precau tions, and few would think it worth while to adopt them. You are practacilly safe if you stay indoors, closing windows and other open ings, and keeping away from stoves, stovepipes and fireplaces. If you find yourself perforce out of doors during a thunder storm, avoid the neighborhood of tall, iso lated trees, and do not follow a stream or the bonder of a lake. Keep away, also, from wire fences. Most of the destruction of cattle by lightning, in recent years, occurs where they have huddled close to a metallic barrier. Don’t carry an umbrella in a thunder storm. The Marquis of Montebello's fate Is a sufficient warning on that score. Submit to be soaked with rain rather than take shelter under a tree, and, for your comfort, remem ber that. In almost any case, you have many chances in your favor to one against you, and that death by lightning is probably the most painless to which a living being can ■be subjected. It is quicker than the nerves. would happen, not realizing that his state of mind was one which would attract and produce misfortune. Far kinder would it have been had he remained at home or quietly insisted upon going to the country. To yield a point to another is not a courtesy or a kindness unless it is yielded graciously, amiably and with every effort to make the sit uation agreeable and pleasant. Two people may leave a palatial and luxurious home and go hito the discomforts of a small hotel room or a farm house, and yet they may tind delight and benefits untold of in the change if they are good com rades, real friends or tender lovers. The delights and benefits are all results of mental conditions—an un selfish desire to please your asso ciates. happiness in seeing others enjoy life, satisfaction in getting and giving the best of life in every situation. These are the qualities which make every vacation a success, every journey one of benefit, every change a pleasure and the return home to work a new delight. Husbands and wives, parents and children jog along in the home for months without really seeing one another as they are. How to Get Benefits. But in the close intimacy which travel and boarding house or hotel life necessitates the prominent traits and characteristics stand forth prominently revealed. Therefore, before you go aw ay on your vacation it is well to brush up your manners, to take a fresh hold on your w ill power and to fertilize your affectionate nature so that your family and your friends and the strangers you will meet may be benefited by your companionship. And in doing this you will re ceive real benefit yourself from yourself and return refreshed and happy and self-respecting when the outing is over. THE HOME PAPER Elbert Hubbard Writes on The Assassins In the Days of Old the “Assas sins” Devoted Their Lives to Truth, Justice, Purity, Right, and Their Business Was to Give Everybody a Square Deal. By ELBERT HUBBARD Copyright, 1912, by International News Service THE word "assassin” was once eminently respectable. It was first used in the twelfth century in Persia. It signified a member of a Mohammedan relig ious order. These assassins devot ed their lives to truth, justice, purity, right, and their business was to give everybody a square deal. They took their name from the leader, Hassan, and were called Hassanites. or Hassassins. Then some enemy of the order called them Hashassins. or hashish eaters. These men were fired by religious zeal until they ran amuck, killing every one who tried to oppose them. People thought they were Intoxi cated by hashish, or the juice of the hemp plant. This may have been so, but a man intoxicated by religious zeal, or drunk on success and his own oratory, is quite as dangerous as an Individual who Is simply plain drunk on dope and drugs. The word "assassin” was taken up by the French and circulated, first as a slang word, and then it got fixed in the dictionary, and when the English adopted it, it be came legitimate. Proud of the Name. These Assassins of Islam were proud of the name and gloried In it. The secret Order of Assassins existed from the twelfth century down practically to our own time, and members of the order still en dure. They were fatalists, and were taught that if they died in the par ticular work to which they were assigned, their souls tvould imme diately gravitate to Paradise. For 200 years the Order of Assas sins held all Asia Minor In terror, and instituted some very Dark Ages. The Assassins struck In the dark, and the government was powerless Io locate the murderers; In fact, of ficers of the government themselves were often members of this Order of Assassins. The whole thing was very much like the Camorra of Italy, or the cheerful White Caps, of which America has had quite a taste. The world should beware of men who come In the name of reforma tion. demanding that the world shcAdd be made over according to idi/1 plans which they themselves have formulated. Any man who is better (or who thinks he is better) than the common run of humanity is apt to be a dangerous individual and may easily gravitate into the sacred Order of Assassins. The Mahdis that have appeared from time to time in the Orient, es pecially in Asia Minor, Persia and Turkey, have belonged to this Or der of Assassins. The word “Mah di” means one w ho leads us out of captivity. Each of the dozen or so Mahdis George W. Perkins and the Roose- I velt Progressive Party Continued from First Column. had when the convention opened—something quite new, as politi cians will admit. I he country needs to get rid of political hacks and professional candidates. It wants to interest in politics and in government the ablest men that the country possesses. Wherever big work has been done in a country, it has been done by men of power—and usually by men that have proved successful in something else besides politics. Geoige \\ ashington was a good soldier—and about the richest man in the country, when he did his great work for this republic. Nobody suggests that he ought to have kept out of politics because he happened to be rich. Jacques ( oeur was the richest man in Europe when his power ot organization and his great capital were put at the service of r ranee in a crisis brought on by incompetency in government. )israeli, «ho did so much for England—more than'any other man, perhaps, except Pitt—was a man of great power, and would ia\e >een a man of vast wealth if he had thought it worth while to make money. He made millions for England in his purchase of the • uez canal bonds, and hundreds of millions in other ways. If other men. having proved their ability in the big industrial «oik ot the country, will follow the example of Perkins and take a share in government and a place in politics, they will do much to in crease efficiency’ in government affairs. And they need not abandon their big undertakings—if those undertakings are legitimate. A man should be a builder as well as a talker and a lawmaker, lhe ablest men in government have been unusually able in practical affairs. lhe wonderful fight that \ oltaire made against oppression am! m e injustice did not prevent his building up a prosperous com munity and making himself a very rich man. Necker was a grea' business man. as well as a great statesman. Colonel Roosevelt should not seem to apologize for havin -1 erkins with him. Ou the contrary, he should be proud of havii.u started a progressive movement that can attract successful men. ami not merely attract the hacks and the failures of other political parties. KT* that Mohammedanism has pro. duced has called himself "The Mahdi.” There was one particular Mahdi that turned the Soudan into a trail of danger and death about the year 1880. This Mad Mullah s business was to restore the Soudan, and eventually the entire world, to a condition of peace, equity, justice and prosperity through destruction of the forces that he said were strangling the plain people. He Took to the Desert. This man took to the desert with a few r hundred followers. At first they were unarmed. They lived on the contributions of the Faithful A little later, when contributions were not forthcoming, they made raids into the towns and villages, and collected their own. Soon they were transformed into a formidable mass of cavalry, riding stolen horses. The restless, the worthless, the uneasy, all those who had noth ing to lose, quit work and followed the Mahdi. Ideal communities were to be or ganized. A new distribution of goods was to be the rule. The rich and the governing classes were to be eliminated. The rule of the people was to be supreme. The revolt grew’ so great that the Khedive abandoned the Soudan. General Gordon, known as “Chi nese Gordon,” was sent out by the English government to treat with the Mahdi, and, If necessary, to de stroy him. Gordon arrived at Khartoum fn 1884. He Issued a request to the hostile Soudanese to lay down their arms, and return to their homes and go to work, promising them Immunity from punishment for their offenses. The reply of the Assassins was to cut off Gordon’s communication with Cairo. Gordon did not have any idea of the number of men he had to deal with, and nobody yet knows how this disorganized, un organized mass of humanity, that fed off the land like grasshoppers, shut Gordon up with his 10,000 sol diers In Khartoum. Held Him a Captive. The besieging hordes held him captive for ten months. Finally, Great Britain dispatched an army to the relief of Gordon, under General Wolseley, who ar rived within two days march of Khartoum. But through the treach ery of certain people in Khartoum —for whom General Gordon was fighting—the gates were thrown open and the hordes came tum bling through, and Gordon went down to hts death. Only the death of Gordon aroused the British nation to the danger o' this rule of the mob. Kitchener was sent to the Soudan with an army, and it took him twelve years to put down the rebellion started by these religious progressives who thought to make the world over.